South Carroll used its ball-control offense and another strong performance from running back Mike Dodd to defeat host North Carroll, 35-6, last night.
The Cavaliers have used a ball-control, running attack effectively this season, and coach Gene Brown wasn't about to change things. The Cavaliers (4-1, 2-0) ran 61 plays to 29 for the Panthers (0-5, 0-3), in the Carroll County contest.
South Carroll finished with 289 yards total offense -- 245 of which came on the ground -- to only 14 for North Carroll. The Panthers didn't make it into positive yardage until Matt Lovetro scored on a 2-yard run with 4:15 left in the game.
Dodd, a 6-foot-3, 237-pound back, has been the cornerstone of the South Carroll offense all season, and last night [98 yards on 20 carries, two touchdowns] was no different. Although he didn't carry the ball as much as he did last week against Liberty [38 carries for 186 yards], because he saw a good amount of action at defensive end, Dodd still was busy.
"We played him a lot on defense tonight," said Brown, who pulled Dodd in the third quarter. "He can break them, but his [short runs] can wear a defense down."
The Cavaliers took the opening kickoff and drove 67 yards on 19 plays, eating up 11 minutes, 8 seconds before quarterback Ron Garrett scored from a yard out.
Dodd rushed on the first six plays of the drive and 11 overall, gaining 39 yards. The second Cavalier possession was no lTC different. They ran nearly six minutes off the clock while driving 63 yards on 11 plays, capped by a 2-yard Dodd run.
"The [first drive] showed our team that we could manhandle that team," said Dodd. "Our goal was to get as much time off the clock as we could."
South Carroll also scored on its other two first-half possessions, both on one-play drives.
After the Cavaliers recovered a fumble at the Panthers' 1, Dodd scored with 2:22 left.
Then, quarterback Jason Harich found Chris Lyerly with a short pass that the running back turned into a 43-yard touchdown as the Cavaliers led 28-0 at the half. That was the lone Cavaliers pass of the half.
"We didn't have the ball enough to get into a rhythm," said North Carroll coach Randy Clark. "Our kids played hard, and we hung in there."
Lyerly also turned in a strong performance. The speedy running back scored twice -- including a 2-yard run in the third quarter -- and finished with 70 yards on 15 carries.
The story on offense for North Carroll was a frustrating one. The Panthers had minus-15 yards offense in the first half, and the second half was not much better.
S.Carroll .7 21 7 0--35
N. Carroll 0 0 0 6 -- 6